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A Lincoln Pilgrimage: The Hal Seaberg Travelogues and Correspondence

 

Photograph of Hal Seaberg at Oakwood Cabin, June 9, 1940

The Hal Seaberg Travelogues and Correspondence, 1939-1942 (MS 1013) describe the travels of Carl Hjalmar Seaberg (who went by Hal), a Swedish immigrant and steelworker who spent his summers from 1939 to 1942 visiting sites related to Abraham Lincoln. He worked in a steel plant in Midland, Pennsylvania, and would use his vacation days to travel for two weeks over the summers.

Seaberg immigrated to the United States from Sweden around 1923. In the introduction to his first travelogue, “Twice a Pilgrim through the Lincoln Country,” he described how he set out to learn about his new country:

“After I had learned to master the new language well enough and could absorb the news and other contemporary things from papers and magazines I set out to find out all I could about America. But I worked seven days a week at the blast furnaces and the only time I had for that purpose was my yearly two weeks vacation. I used them well.”

His study of American history led Seaberg to Abraham Lincoln.… Read More

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Stephen Harriman Long: Exploring the West

Stephen Harriman Long was an explorer, engineer, and inventor. Born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, in 1784, Long attended Dartmouth College and went on to become a professor of mathematics at the U.S. Military Academy. He served as an officer and civil engineer in the Corps of Topographical Engineers for the U.S. Army and participated in a number of expeditions between 1816 and 1824 before working with railroads, bridge construction, and river navigation improvements.

Long was selected to lead an exhibition to survey potential sites for Army forts west of the Mississippi River in 1817. Based on his recommendations from the journey, the U.S.… Read More

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Thomas Mather: Business and Politics in Early Illinois

Thomas Mather was an early Illinois settler, businessman, and politician who served as a member of both branches of the Illinois legislature.  His father, William Mather, fought in the Revolutionary War, and Thomas was also a direct descendant of New England minister Cotton Mather. Thomas Mather was born in Simsbury, Connecticut in 1795. He became a successful merchant in New York City, and in the spring of 1818, Mather migrated to Kaskaskia, Illinois.

As he settled into life in Illinois, Mather quickly become involved in both business and politics. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1820 and served four terms, including a term as Speaker of the House from 1824-1826.… Read More